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There is a tradition of some good literature written about the fishing experience, usually about Trout.
Shad? Not so much.
Allow me a little indulgence.
Back in my fly fishing days, several decades ago, I remember reading a story that went something like this:
An old fisherman passes on to that great trout stream in the sky, and is buried with his favorite bamboo fly rod and a box of dry flies.
He awakens only to find himself knee deep in what he recognizes is a very famous trout stream, one that is renowned for it's difficult fishing and selective trout. He looks about and notices a famous guide is standing at the edge of the stream to offer him assistance or encouragement as needed.
On his first cast, he hooks and lands a 12" trout.
"Wow, that is impressive." he thinks to himself.
On his next cast he hooks and lands a fish that is identical to the first.
This goes on for several hours.
On every cast cast he hooks a 12" trout, every one exactly the same.
Even when he flubs a cast, a trout rises up and takes his fly.
After a while, he leaves the water, and walks over to the guide, who is standing there looking very bored.
The old fisherman asks:" Is this heaven? Every fish is exactly the same. It's like I keep catching the same fish over and over again. There is no variety, and no challenge, it's the same damn fish!""
"What makes you think that you are in heaven?" replied the guide.
That's sorta what it was like fishing on the Potomac, near Fletcher's, today. Except for the fact that I caught all different sized fish, it was practically a fish on almost every cast. I didn't go three successive casts without a hit, and probably didn't go five casts without a hookup. For the 2 1/2 hours I was there, it was continuous catching. The guys I was fishing with were still catching when I left.
About 60% of the fish were males Hickories ranging from 10-16 inches and the remaining 40% were roe shad. The females are looking a little worse for wear, missing some scales, and torn fins, as broadcast spawning among the shad is apparently a bit vigorous and rough on the females fish. Several of the roe shad were 22+ inches long. As an added bonus I hooked one very good sized White (American) Shad, maybe 24" long, and I'd guess more than 5 lbs.
Many times as I fought fish in, they were pursed by a bunch of rivals.
Including my first cast of the day, I had 6 double headers.
Suffice it to say, I caught a whole lot of fish.
It got to the point where I began to experiment with changing lures to see what wouldn't catch fish.
They all caught fish!
I tried every color dart in the box and even a bunch of home made flutter spoons, everything caught!
Lemon / lime was still the most effective, and pink/ white was less effective, but it didn't matter!
We all occasionally need a day like this.
Shad? Not so much.
Allow me a little indulgence.
Back in my fly fishing days, several decades ago, I remember reading a story that went something like this:
An old fisherman passes on to that great trout stream in the sky, and is buried with his favorite bamboo fly rod and a box of dry flies.
He awakens only to find himself knee deep in what he recognizes is a very famous trout stream, one that is renowned for it's difficult fishing and selective trout. He looks about and notices a famous guide is standing at the edge of the stream to offer him assistance or encouragement as needed.
On his first cast, he hooks and lands a 12" trout.
"Wow, that is impressive." he thinks to himself.
On his next cast he hooks and lands a fish that is identical to the first.
This goes on for several hours.
On every cast cast he hooks a 12" trout, every one exactly the same.
Even when he flubs a cast, a trout rises up and takes his fly.
After a while, he leaves the water, and walks over to the guide, who is standing there looking very bored.
The old fisherman asks:" Is this heaven? Every fish is exactly the same. It's like I keep catching the same fish over and over again. There is no variety, and no challenge, it's the same damn fish!""
"What makes you think that you are in heaven?" replied the guide.
That's sorta what it was like fishing on the Potomac, near Fletcher's, today. Except for the fact that I caught all different sized fish, it was practically a fish on almost every cast. I didn't go three successive casts without a hit, and probably didn't go five casts without a hookup. For the 2 1/2 hours I was there, it was continuous catching. The guys I was fishing with were still catching when I left.
About 60% of the fish were males Hickories ranging from 10-16 inches and the remaining 40% were roe shad. The females are looking a little worse for wear, missing some scales, and torn fins, as broadcast spawning among the shad is apparently a bit vigorous and rough on the females fish. Several of the roe shad were 22+ inches long. As an added bonus I hooked one very good sized White (American) Shad, maybe 24" long, and I'd guess more than 5 lbs.
Many times as I fought fish in, they were pursed by a bunch of rivals.
Including my first cast of the day, I had 6 double headers.
Suffice it to say, I caught a whole lot of fish.
It got to the point where I began to experiment with changing lures to see what wouldn't catch fish.
They all caught fish!
I tried every color dart in the box and even a bunch of home made flutter spoons, everything caught!
Lemon / lime was still the most effective, and pink/ white was less effective, but it didn't matter!
We all occasionally need a day like this.
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